Sol Campbell says Arsenal need to build on their performance against Manchester United, as well as buying a couple of defenders, if they want to be successful.

After a poor opening 15 minutes in Saturday’s meeting with Manchester United, Arsenal turned things round, and ended up being unlucky not to get more out of it.

Hitting the woodwork, seeing valid penalty claims turned down and David De Gea putting in one of the best performances of his Premier League career, showed it just wasn’t the Gunners’ day.

But Sol Campbell thinks they can take heart from the way they played, telling ESPN: “They’ve done pretty well overall. If they can build on that performance against Manchester United — but cut out the first 10 minutes — they’ll be OK.

“But Arsenal are two defenders short of being a top team. They really need to push the boat out and buy a couple more players.”

The defensive errors were really what killed the Gunners. None of the three centre-backs were faultless for United’s three goals, and conceding so many gives you a mountain to climb against a tough opposition.

If Arsenal had kept things tight at the back, the one goal they did score would’ve been enough for a result, so it’s still ultimately down to them.

Perhaps Arsenal should spend big to bring in a proven top-class defender, as it’s starting to become the main area of concern in the side.

Some other positions, like the wing-backs, are in need of back-up, but I can’t think of any area of the pitch where the first-choice options are criticised as often as the centre-backs.

For now, Wenger and the fans have no choice but to hope those first-choice options are up to the task, as there are a lot of games to go this month before the transfer window opens.